Equilibrium
by Jazlynn
Summary: .:AU Fic:. With 2 kingdoms on the brink of war, it is hard to determine who you can trust. Friends can become enemies and enemies can become great allies. But what kind of impact could this have on a mere 18 year old boy? .:Part 1 of the Elysium Trilogy:.
1. Prologue to Disaster

A/N: Hey guys! I'm here with another story that will totally amaze you! That is, if I go through with the whole thing and don't get sidetracked. Anyways, this is the prologue to a trilogy that I am writing for your enjoyment. I already have most of it planned out so, hopefully, I will not be plagued by any writer's block anytime soon. However, I should probably warn you a little bit about this prologue. Due to the fact that I am reading Macbeth in English class, this prologue turned out to be a little bit gory. It shouldn't be that bad so I'm sure that you'll still be able to read this. The rest of the story shouldn't be too bad in concerns to blood and such so, please don't go away due to the nature of the prologue. As for the rest of you, please, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the Kingdom Hearts referrences in this story! I only own the plot and my own characters!

Prologue to Disaster  
_Equilibrium  
_Written by: Jazlynn

Silent was the night that shrouded the Kingdom of Light as a thick fog sat heavily upon the cold earth. Dark clouds hovered above the sky and let out a threatening rumble as a lone cloaked figure made his way up a dirt road. The rocks and pebbles crunched underneath the weight of his boots as he paced unwaveringly towards his destination. Brown locks of hair framed his pale face and seemed to bounce up and down with every step he took. He breathed in and out while a cloud formed around his face as his breath mixed with the cold November air. His sharp blue eyes scanned the area around him cautiously before they fell upon the large castle just a few miles ahead. For many days and nights he had traversed and now he was finally at his destination. With a ruthless determination, he casually made his way up the road. After a few minutes of walking, the randomly placed rocks and pebbles turned into fine rocks that were placed neatly on the road for smoother traveling. Very soon, he was at the drawbridge of the castle. Cupping his chin with a gloved hand, he observed the challenge presented to him whilst looking quite perplexed. His assignment was simple enough: to kill the king and his family. However, many things had gotten in the way.

The man took a few steps forward to look down the gap that separated him from the castle. At the bottom of the two steep slopes, many dark creatures with glowing yellow eyes wandered the ground in search for fresh meat. He had heard that these were quite the devilish fiends yet he had never seen their behavior in person. They all seemed to gravitate towards his presence, trying to climb the steep rock yet tumbling back down into the mass of black and trying once again to get towards him as if they knew that he would be drenched in blood. The cloaked man simply smirked at this little revelation. They really were smart creatures. However, the blood he was to be drenched in was not to be his own. He laughed sadistically in a deep rich voice before he began to pace the side of the cliff. His dark thoughts would have to be saved for later. As he neared a grove of pines, a creaking sound of wood and metal alerted his being. With a hint of fear, the man concealed himself within the shadows to watch as a horse-drawn carriage neared the gates. The man scrutinized the cart and tried to identify if anyone was inside. He saw no one. He watched as the driver whispered a spell to lower the gates and watched as the large gate was lowered to form a bridge. A plan quickly developed in his mind and he darted towards the cart with inhuman speed. As the drawbridge was fully lowered and the driver began to proceed, the cloaked man leapt forward and pushed the driver off the side of the carriage. The poor man screamed in terror as he fell faster and faster towards the vicious beasts below. He hit the ground with a bone shattering thud that even the assassin above could hear. The creatures quickly surrounded the driver at the first presence of blood and began to tear his clothes and rip away at his flesh. His shrieks of pain and fear seemed to go unnoticed by the creatures as they dismembered his body. The man above simply smiled in delight as the screams echoing off the sides of the canyon began to die out. He hadn't lost his touch at all. Turning his focus back to the task at hand, he gripped the reins and led the skittish horses forward.

In less than half an hour, the murderer had entered the courtyard, killed two guards and made it within the vast castle. There was only one matter left to attend to now. As the man paced the castle, he could not help but notice the interesting colour scheme. Pristine white marble floors were all over the castle and gold sashes and curtains adorned the walls and windows. Personally, he thought that the castle needed a little bit more colour. As he traversed the large building, he came upon a large set of stairs which led to a pair of large white marble doors that were lined with gold. The assassin's curiosity peaked and he felt a great need to enter that room. With a new found determination, he proceeded up the stairs and pulled the excruciatingly heavy doors open. A smile danced in his eyes upon his discovery and he entered the room feeling quite satisfied with himself. Two white thrones lined by golden padding were situated at the far end of the room where translucent gold canopies hung from the walls and ceiling around them. Large windows with golden frames and curtains lined the walls of the great hall allowing a flash of lightning to illuminate the room. In a sly manner, the assassin approached one of the thrones and seated himself upon it. Making himself comfortable, he smiled devilishly and glanced upon the doorway. Hopefully the screams that came from the guards were enough to wake the king from his deepest slumbers.

As he waited patiently, the assassin began to vaguely make out the voices of two men nearing the throne room. From his place in the shadows, he found that there were two dark silhouettes in the doorway. Another flash of lightning lit up the room and the assassin found his eyes locked with that of the very king himself; Ansem. The older man of high stature wore elegant robes of (you guessed it) white and gold that bore the crest of the royal family of light. He had longer pale-blonde hair that just reached past his shoulders and a small blonde beard masked his chin. His hazy blue eyes held all the wisdom of kings yet they showed fear upon seeing the assassin. Beside the king was his eldest son, Sora, who would take the throne when his father passed on. He could have been no older than seventeen yet his eyes showed all of the valor and fortitude of a man who has been to war and came home a hero. Nonetheless, despite the reputation of both men, the assassin's mission was vivid in his mind. As he watched the king take a few cautious steps forward, a sadistic chuckle resonated from his throat. He tilted his head to the side and a lethal glint flickered in his eyes.

"Long. Live. The king." He crooned in a calm yet twisted voice.

Anger and fear flashed through the King Ansem's eyes upon hearing the assassin's words. However, his son did not show the same fear as he broke out into a mad dash towards the assassin. A large blade in the shape of a key materialized in his hands as he neared the thrones and he let out a mighty cry. With absolutely no fear for his life, the assassin casually rose from the chair and pulled a sword out of the sheath which the fabrics of his cloak had concealed. With much grace, the assassin lifted the blade effortlessly to parry the young prince's attack. Metal clashed ferociously as Sora and the assassin sent attack after attack at one another. Very soon, the murderer grew tired of the replicated fighting patterns and thought it best to bring it all to an end. He was getting quite tired and he still had to kill the king and make his escape. As Sora jumped forward with an attack, the assassin stepped back before thrusting his sword forward. The young cinnamon haired prince let out a cry of agony as the sword plunged itself in his side. From behind, his father called out his name in distress and this was the assassin's sickening cue. He ripped the sword out of Sora's side and watched devilishly as the prince crumbled to the ground letting his crimson blood splatter in random spirals on the white floor. Turning his glance, he found the king standing in silent shock. This was the moment he had been waiting for. With great swiftness, he ran forward and plunged the sword through King Ansem's heart. The sword emerged from the king's chest at the assassin's will and Ansem was left standing in shock. One of his pale hands clutched the wound he had been given and slowly, his body began to shake uncontrollably. Blood surfaced at the back of his throat and the king began to rapidly descend towards the floor. He was met with a loud thud and the assassin observing from above smiled a most lethal smile at him. To the king's horror, he found that the blade that had pierced him was now hovering inches above his mouth. The next thing he knew, he tasted bloody metal and his lungs were struggling to get air. His vision blurred and very soon, his world faded to black. The assassin laughed in triumph before turning towards the door. His mission was complete. Yet there were still a few problems. With the king of light gone and the prince slowly dying, the queen and young princess would take rule. That was not acceptable in the eyes of this assassin. Slowly, he left the room, unaware of the young prince stumbling up to his feet in the blood-stained room.

The assassin moved quickly through the white halls, trying desperately to go unnoticed. The task wasn't too difficult due to low security yet it was wise to still be somewhat careful. After a good amount of time, he finally found the chambers in which the queen and princess slept. Slowly, he entered the queen's room to find the beautiful dark-haired woman sleeping tenderly under gold silken sheets. He silently approached her and gently drew back the fabric that enveloped her body. To his dismay, he found that the queen appeared to be, at the least, six months pregnant. This certainly was some interesting news to the assassin. Nonetheless, he knew what he had to do. Besides, the grief and sorrow that this poor woman would have to endure when she found that her dearest husband and son were murdered might be too much for her to handle. Silently, with a venomous smile, he lifted his sword above her pregnant belly and quickly thrust it downward with no remorse. It had been far too easy for him to hit two birds with one stone. Now there was only one more royal to deal with; the little princess, Selphie. He swiftly drew his sword from the deceased queen's body and began to proceed to the next room. As he silently entered the princess's room, he noticed a dramatic change in colour. The usual gold and white theme of the castle had been changed to many different shades of pink. Not only was the colour of the room different but this room also contained a balcony, a feature that the queen's room did not posses. He also noticed that the storm outside had died down and only a few minor gusts of wind remained. The final thing that he noticed was that little Princess Selphie was not in her bed. Instead, she was standing on the balcony, too wrapped up in talking with someone below in the courtyard to even notice her rapidly approaching demise. Like a venomous snake ready to catch its prey, the assassin crept towards the princess with his blood stained sword in hand. As she was speaking with the young stable boy that she had come to be great friends with, Selphie's words had been trapped within her throat. Her eyes were wide with fear and the pain that shot through her body was evident on her face. The young stable boy screamed in terror upon seeing the assassin appear behind Selphie and lift her by the neck with one hand and pulling a sword out of her body with the other. The killer smiled sadistically before dropping the fragile girl off the side of the balcony. The small boy let out another shriek as his dead friend fell upon the ground on witch he stood. The assassin simply laughed maliciously before disappearing within the castle once more.

As he ran through the halls, he found that there was much more commotion. He could hear voices screaming murder and voices commanding others to check the queen and princess. He would have to move quickly if he was to escape from the Castle of Light. Darting through halls and down staircases, the assassin found that he was getting quite close to the exit. Unfortunately, many guards scurried around the main entrance which made passage a very difficult task. Figuring that there was nothing to lose, the assassin dashed forward and made a break for the door. Soldiers and guards noted his presence and demanded that he was caught. Every man who attempted to catch the killer all failed miserably as he leapt out the door. Still, more guards rushed outside to find the man riding off into the distance on a black stallion letting out one mighty cry of praise.

"All hail Lady Krystina!"

* * *

A/N: Yay! The end of the prologue! I'm pretty sure that most of you have figured out who the assassin is by now. If not, I will be extremely offended and I would have to stop you from reading this story further! Anyways, I have left the queen unnamed for now since I was too lazy to come up with name for a character who will have no further purpose in the story. If you have a name for the queen that I might be able to bring up later, feel free to tell me. Well, that's it for now so review and tell me what you thought of the prologue. Feel free to give me some feedback as well. I'm always open to criticism that will help my writing get better.


	2. Reminiscence

'Ello, loverlies! Guess what? I FINALLY UPDATED! I know that a few of you have been waiting months for this so, here is the first chapter. Hopefully, this chapter will catch some interest. The beginning may seem slow but, it picks up towards the end. Oh, and don't be picky about certain pairings that I've made for this story. I have my reasons so, please, bear with me. I have no idea when the next chapter will be posted so, just stick around and wait for me to update. I actually have someplace to go with this story now. By the way, just a warning for future chapters, I will be switching character's povs so you might have things from the perspective of Marluxia in one chapter and then have things from the perspective of, oh, lets say Kairi. Well, anyways, enjoy!

Reminiscence  
_Equilibrium  
_Written by: Jazlynn

It had been exactly nineteen years since the assassination of the great King Ansem. It wasn't clear as to who murdered the king and his family but many rumors had been flitting around. Some say that is was an attack brought on by the Kingdom of Dark. Others believe that the recent king, King Sora, had hired a man to kill his family to make it seem like an accident, just so that he could have power. But the most likely story was that the thieves of Nothingness Forest were revolting against the royal family for prohibiting them from normal society. As for Naminé, she did not know what angle she took on the situation. She had personally had a run in with the assassin on the night that the royal family had been murdered. It must have been after the killings because when the man approached her, he reeked of blood. She was only seventeen at the time but the toll that the assassin as well as the assassinations had on her life was great.

She had lived in Traverse Town at that point. Some would scold her now for ever living in such a place but there was nowhere else for her to go. Her mother had abandoned her when she was twelve and she was left to scavenge the three towns surrounding the Castle of Light. Her favourite town to wander around was Twilight Town, the very town she lived in now. Many of the upper class citizens of the Kingdom of Light lived there and the magnificent sunsets were always a sight to see. Each town had a time when it was greatly accented by light and for Twilight Town, it was the evening. However, as a homeless child, she was not welcome there. Eventually, she was forbidden by the higher class citizens and was not able to wander around there anymore. It was then that she moved on to the middle class town, Hollow Bastion; the place where the afternoon was most accented. It was in that town where a shady man approached her and took her under his wing. At the time, the man seemed to be like a father figure to Naminé, yet, when she turned sixteen; he introduced her to his "business". She remembered him stating that it was time for her to provide for herself and that she could work for him in order to keep her home. It turned out that his so-called-business was located in the town of night, Traverse Town. That was when her illegal life began.

She worked in a place called 'Queens of Heart' with a bunch of other women. Her job was to dance, sing and… "entertain" men. The man who took her in became more of a manager to Naminé than anything and eventually, on occasion, he would beat her in front of customers for a good laugh. It was during one of these beatings that the assassin wandered in. Surprisingly, he found the act against her disgusting and he brought her away. Even if he did kill King Ansem, Naminé owed him a lot. Yet, a few problems rose because of his visit. He had come and gone and then Naminé discovered that she was pregnant. She remembered having to tell her boss about the circumstance and, to put it lightly, he was very upset. Naminé ran. She ran far, far away from Traverse Town where she knew that she would be alright; Twilight Town. With her eyes blinded by tears and painful bruises, she didn't notice the spiky-haired blonde walk out in front of her. Both teenagers were quickly acquainted with the ground. Naminé merely curled up on the pavement and let out loud sobs of anguish. The blonde male embraced her tightly and tried his best to comfort her. Eventually, his words got through to Naminé and she ended up telling him her story. The boy seemed completely unfazed by this and stayed with her. Now that boy was her husband who took great care of her.

Naminé smiled upon the memory of their meeting with much happiness as she ran a hand through her long blonde hair. It amazed her how long her hair was now. Back when she was younger, her hair was always at a short length. Now it was over halfway down her back! Still, she always kept it neatly pulled back into some fancy clip when she was up and about. Her appearance had definitely improved since her old life as well. Blue eyes that were always fearful and secretive were now bright and full of life. Her tattered red and black dresses changed to fine, silken gowns of white and sky blue. Now she was well respected among the citizens of Twilight Town. However, she now only had one main concern—her eighteen year old son, Benjamin. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken well to living in Twilight Town. Naminé often received complaints that Benjamin had been starting fights with other teenagers in the neighbourhood—behaviour that had been genetically given to him by his father. Naminé never revealed the identity of his father to him. That kind of information could have him killed. The only person that Naminé had ever told about it was her husband.

As if on cue, the blonde-haired man entered the room with a smile on his face. His blue eyes sparked in the twilight rays of sunlight shining through the windows and he went to tightly embrace his wife. Naminé smiled back at him and returned his loving gesture with a kiss. In all her life, Naminé had never truly been happy until she had met him.

"Roxas, you're home earlier than I expected." She stated, obviously not bothered by his presence at all. If anything, she wanted nothing more than to have him around at all times.

"Yes, I know." He replied gingerly as he softly stroked Naminé's cheek. "The King is in a pleasant mood today. He allowed for his scribes to leave early."

"Well, I suppose that is good." Naminé cooed slyly as she moved away from her husband. "And was there anything interesting to document today?"

Roxas ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair as he thought up a decent reply. "Well, there is not much, really, to say, as usual. The King is still obsessed with getting rid of the thieves. You would think that he would calm down with the senseless imprisonments and executions that he has been imposing on them after he executed their leader, Krystina. Apparently, she has a daughter who wishes to rebel against him. However, they are only rumors."

Naminé giggled softly as she listened to Roxas speak. She often got into debates with Roxas on all of the rumors floating around. "Well, I can kind of understand his paranoia. His entire family was killed by an assassin sent by the thieves."

Roxas became solemn as he stood there silently. Apparently, something that Naminé had said to him struck a chord. "And was it really the thieves that sent him?"

For the first time in their conversation, Naminé felt lost for words. Roxas _never_ brought up her encounter with the assassin in a way that questioned any of the information that she had gained from that one night. However, Roxas brought up a very good point. No one knew who had sent the assassin and she was the only person who was closest to knowing who had sent him. But, unfortunately, there was nothing that she could say. "I really don't know, Roxas. We've been through this before. I've told you all that I know. There are no secrets between us, remember?"

A smile broke through Roxas' solemn façade as he embraced his wife tenderly. "Yes, I remember. I guess it's just my job as a scribe cutting into my life with you. I'm sorry. But, speaking of the assassin, where is that troublesome son of yours?"

Naminé smiled at the mention of her son. Really, questioning the location of her son was a waste of time. Benjamin could never be found when he was being sought out. However, he was usually drawn to the Sandlot. "Well, your guess is as good as mine but chances are quite likely that he will be around the Sandlot. That is, unless he and that group of friends he has, have found some other place to cause trouble."

"Perhaps I should go look for him." Roxas suggested quietly.

Naminé's eyes went wide at the suggestion her husband gave. "Absolutely not! You just got home! You should be relaxing! _I'll_ go search for Benji."

Roxas laughed a whole-hearted laugh at Naminé's proposal. However, Naminé stood her ground as if her suggestion was the most sensible thing in the world. Roxas pouted at her in an attempt to make her give in to just staying. It didn't work. Roxas sighed in defeat before embracing Naminé again.

"Alright, alright, you can go find Benji. I guess I'll just stay here and… start making dinner. Does that sound good to you?"

Actually, in all honesty, that sounded ideal to Naminé. She could go out for a walk and come home to a dinner already made. She wouldn't have to cook this time. So, with a sly smile, she gave Roxas a quick peck on the cheek before heading to the door. "Yes, it does. Just don't burn anything, alright?"

Naminé received a mock salute from her husband as she turned to walk out the door. Oh, how she loved Roxas. He had made her whole life worth living. She smiled happily as she closed the door behind her. Now it was time to find her mischievous son. So, Naminé strode down the pathway from her large house to the small street that she lived on. A cool August breeze blew through her soft blonde hair and made it seem like it was dancing in the air. Naminé giggled as she tried to smooth her hair back to the way it was. Unfortunately, her hair still remained somewhat messy. Then again, she couldn't expect less of a breeze to ruffle her hair. The weather had been wonderful as of late and Naminé was going to miss it when it was gone. It appeared as if clouds were rolling in from the south. It looked as if they might be bringing rain with them as well. That thought made Naminé's lips diminish into a frown. She truly disliked rain. It made her feel so sad. However, with rain coming soon, it only made sense that she should hurry to find Benji.

Naminé's pace quickened as she neared the sandlot. A bad feeling came over her and it made her shiver. She didn't understand the aura that she was feeling but, the bad feeling it gave off was backed off by a sudden outburst of yelling and cursing. That was never a good thing—especially when the voices were originating from the sandlot and one of them was quite distinguishable. Naminé broke out into a run in order to get to the sandlot before anything bad could happen. When she got there, she found two groups looking as if they were about to begin a great war of some kind. The two leaders were standing in front of their groups acting as the instigators and strongly voicing their opinions about each other. One of them was Seifer—a known troublemaker in Twilight Town. The other, to Naminé's dismay, was her beloved son, Benji. From the looks of things, Benji had started this fight.

"Benjamin Michael, you come here this minute!"

Naminé watched as her son cringed upon hearing his first and middle name being used with that same angry tone of voice that Naminé had often spoke to him with before. However, he didn't move from his spot. Seifer burst into a fit of laughter and his friends followed suit. Benji scowled at them before giving Naminé his attention.

"Don't worry, mom. A minute is all I need to beat the shit out of him." He spat irritably.

"Benjamin!" Naminé was shocked that her child would swear in front of her. It seemed so surreal to her. She had tried desperately to raise her son to the light and he merely embraced the darkness! Deciding to take some action before Benji could, Naminé strode over to her son and gripped his wrist firmly. She then continued to drag him away from the sandlot. Benji tried to resist her but Naminé knew that it was simply an act for his group of friends. If he wanted to disobey her, he could have easily pulled away from her grip. Thankfully, some of her submissiveness had passed on to him. However, it was difficult for Naminé to suppress a smile at the scene that was unfolding around her. Some of Benji's friends began to laugh at his situation and Naminé knew that he would react to that.

"Leon, help me!" Benji cried out in distress.

His dark-haired friend laughed while waving to him. "Don't worry, Benji. We'll get Seifer for you."

"Yeah," his blonde-haired friend, Cloud, added in, "you just worry about what your mom's going to do to you."

"Guys, you're supposed to help me out here!" Benji pleaded sounding quite beaten.

Naminé almost had Benji away from the sandlot when Seifer decided to make a remark that Benji would not take.

"Alright then, we'll settle this later, _mama's boy_."

Naminé felt Benji jerk his hand away from her and she quickly turned to witness the event that would take place. Everything seemed to go in slow motion and it made Naminé feel truly ill. She could see Benji running towards Seifer with icy daggers in his eyes—oh, Naminé knew those eyes—his fathers eyes when he had rescued Naminé from her ex-employer. Those were the lethal eyes of an assassin—an assassin who would kill anyone who got in his way. Naminé was about to scream for Benji to stop when another figure flew out of the alleyway and collided with him head on. They both fell to the ground and items of food went flying.

A young girl, who appeared to be Benji's age, sat there on the ground in stunned shock. She had bright blue eyes and long light brown hair that seemed to flow down her back and frame her finely tanned face. She looked like she could be a very beautiful young lady that lived within the high class society of Twilight Town, yet, the tacky clothing that she wore suggested otherwise. She wore a tan coloured outfit made up of shorts that barely covered her legs and a corset-like top with belted straps to keep it in place. A light purple scarf was wrapped around her neck and the only other accessories that she wore were a wrist band and some beaded jewelry made from painted wood. She wore tan boots that looked light and easy for running in. Overall, she looked like a common thief.

A chorus of shouting became evident to Naminé and the young woman quickly jumped to her feet to collect the food she had dropped. Once she had collected all of the food, she gave a final glance to Benji, who was trying to get up on his feet, and took off once more with inhuman speed. A group of soldiers poured into the sandlot after the girl left and they observed the situation around them. Naminé was shocked when she saw the man leading the group. He was one of the king's finest warriors! Roxas told her that this one was known as Tidus. But, why would a warrior go after a mere thief?

Naminé watched as Tidus' eyes fell upon Benji and her eyes widened in horror at what happened next. Within seconds, Tidus had forcefully pushed Benji against a wall and had his sword at his throat. Naminé screamed out in fear for her child and she ran to him. A soldier seized her arms and held her back as Tidus spoke angrily to Benji.

"_You_," he spat, "how _dare_ you return to the Kingdom of Light! The king shall have your head for this, assassin!"

Benji managed to let out a horrified cry of protest. "I've never killed anyone! I'm not an assassin!"

Feeling that she had to do something to do something for her son, Naminé used all of her strength to get away from the soldier that held her. Thankfully, luck had been with Naminé in that moment for she had managed to get away from the soldier. Letting out a shrill scream, she lunged for Tidus' arm and yanked him away from Benji. With tears in her eyes, she embraced Benji to make her body act as a shield.

"What are you doing, woman?! That is the assassin that killed the king's family!" Tidus yelled out in fury.

"No, he isn't!" Naminé protested. She turned to face Tidus while still protecting Benji. "Look at him! He's too young to have killed the king's family! He's only eighteen! The assassination occurred nineteen years ago!"

Tidus went silent for a moment as he assessed the situation. His eyes showed no mercy and Naminé expected the worst. However, there was another turn of events that occurred in the moment that followed. An arrow whizzed past Tidus' head causing him to flinch and become instantly distracted from Naminé and Benji. Then, a voice spoke; a voice that Naminé instantly recognized.

"Now, now, didn't anyone ever tell you that it isn't nice to harm the innocent? What would your king think if he knew that you were going to harm the wife of one of his scribes and their beloved _son_?"

All eyes present at the sandlot flew up to the rooftops where a man in a black cloak stood with a bow and arrow in hand. The hood of his cloak shrouded his face in shadows but Naminé didn't need to see his face to know who he was. This was the assassin of nineteen years ago—Benji's father. The assassin shot another arrow at Tidus and then fled. Tidus moved fast enough to avoid the arrow and then he let out a cry of anger. With that, he led his soldiers after the assassin.

When they were gone, Naminé inhaled deeply and then cried. Benji held her in a comforting way but Naminé could feel him shaking as well. This was not what Naminé had expected when she came to get Benji. Never, had she dreamed that she and her son would have a near-death experience. She couldn't even stop her tears long enough to try and comfort her son. However, Benji had mustered the strength to speak up. He spoke to his friends and, Naminé thought, Seifer's gang as well.

"I'm going to go home now. I'll see you guys around."

With that, Benji began to lead Naminé home. Not long after, Naminé was able to stop the tears from coming and she looked at Benji. She wished that Benji didn't have to look so much like his father. None of this would have happened if he looked more like her. Not to mention, Benji wouldn't suspect Roxas not being his father. Naminé clearly remembered the day when Benji had approached her and asked if he had a different father. Naminé lied to him and it seemed as if Benji had believed her. Now, it truly worried her to think that Benji's real father was back in town. However, if he hadn't been there… Naminé didn't even want to think about it. However, she was pulled out of her thoughts by her son's voice.

"Mom, are you alright?"

Naminé silently nodded while trying to collect her emotions. "I thought that he was going to kill you."

Benji hugged Naminé and let out a sigh. "Oh, mom, he can't kill me. I'm too good for him to kill me. I could take on all of the king's warriors!"

Naminé pulled away from Benji and looked at him sternly. "Benji, I know that you're trying to be brave for me but, _please_, don't go looking for trouble. _Especially_ with the king. He doesn't have any patience for young men playing 'hero'. _Promise_ me that you won't go looking for trouble."

Benji slowly nodded. "I promise."

Naminé breathed a sigh of relief and then began walking towards home with Benji at her side. She would try to be positive about things. Besides, she had a good life now. Why let one little incident make it come crashing down?

* * *

How about that? Have I caught your interest yet? If not then I will eventually turn you to the dark side (we have cookies, by the way :3). Now, I have a simple request from each and every one of you who read this. Whether you are a lurker or a member, I want you to **review**! I absolutely _love_ praise and criticism! Plus, it motivates me to keep writing and updating faster. :3 However, I will not post the next chapter until the review number goes from 2 to, at the least, 7. All I'm asking for is _five reviews_. Common people, you can do it! Show me your support!

**EDIT:** Okay, the next chapter is almost done! However, I can't post it until I get **_one_** more review! Common guys!


	3. Weathering the Storm

Hey guys! Now, I'm going to say that you are very lucky to be getting this. I specifically asked for five reviews before I continued this story and I haven't gotten that fifth review yet. It's been months! However, I've had this done for quite a while now and I was sick of just letting it sit there in my documents. So, I was generous and I posted it. If you want more then review.

On a different note, I've put two different perspectives in this chapter. Hopefully, it'll give a little bit of insight to the story and foreshadow some stuff. I'm trying to get myself hyped up about this story. I really want to go far with this one. However, I've still got a lot of other stories that I need to complete and, therefore, this story will probably slowly update. I have a lot of things on the go right now so, please be patient with me. :3

So, enjoy what I've given you and please review!

Weathering the Storm  
_Equilibrium  
_Written by: Jazlynn

Soft blue eyes carefully watched the rooftops of buildings with the Town of Hollow Bastian. Cinnamon-brown hair blew in an unfriendly breeze as the man let out a soft sigh. He watched silently from the balcony of his room as ominous dark clouds rolled in over the Forest of Nothingness. It appeared as if the Kingdom of Light was in for some bad weather. Bad weather was often a bad omen to his people. For him, however, it was a reminder of that cold November night that occurred so many years ago. There was a terrible storm that night. And just like the flashes of lightning that were there one second and gone the next, his family was ripped away from him. His eyes darkened at the thought and he pushed it out of his mind. The cause of their death was now dead.

Yes, the leader of the thieves, _Lady Krystina_, had been killed. It had been the thieves who had revolted against his family. It was they that called upon that assassin to murder his family. Well, now he had put into action a plan to rid of all the thieves. No more would they come to demand justice. It was, after all, their fault that they had become thieves in the first place. Now they would pay the price.

"Sora?"

The cinnamon haired man turned to face the beautiful woman who had entered his room. His hard expression softened and he smiled upon seeing his lovely queen, Kairi. She wore a beautiful red, gold, and white gown and had her auburn hair pulled up in a neat bun on the top of her head. Her baby-blue eyes shone as she looked at Sora in a lovingly way. She came over to his side and Sora tenderly embraced her. Kairi had been a really good childhood friend of his and when his father had been killed, she was right there to comfort him. Sora always knew that he needed Kairi by his side, so, he proposed to her and she then became the new queen of the Kingdom of Light. She was Sora's inspiration for the choices he made. He wanted to make sure that she would be safe. He wanted to make sure that she wasn't taken away from him like his father, mother, and younger sister.

A low rumble pulled Sora out of his thoughts and his attention was drawn back to the darkening skies. They seemed to be darkening quite fast so night must have been coming on as well. Sora frowned and let out a sigh. "It looks as if we're going to have a storm tonight."

Kairi walked out onto the balcony to observe the dark gray skies. "Yes, it does."

Before another word was spoken between the two, there was a knock on the door. Sora turned to the door before telling the person that they could enter. To Sora's surprise, it was Tidus who entered. It appeared as if he was out of breath and was very upset about something.

"Your Majesty," he started while giving a slight bow of respect, "I bring horrible news concerning the man who killed your family. He has returned."

Sora's eyes widened in shock; the assassin had returned. Had he returned to kill him and Kairi? No! Sora wouldn't allow it! Quickly, Sora approached Tidus with anger flaring in his eyes. "Where is he? Do you know if he's anywhere near the castle?"

"He was in Twilight Town when we found him, sire. He escaped into the Forest of Nothingness before we could capture him. I'm so sorry."

Sora frowned and walked back over to Kairi. He embraced her and cast a final glance at the dark sky. Lightning was becoming evident in the dark clouds and there were further rumbles of thunder. Quickly, Sora led Kairi away from the balcony while still watching the sky. This storm was a bad omen. The return of the assassin proved it. Turning to Tidus, Sora took on his presence of being king once more.

"Secure the castle. See to it that there is no way that anyone can enter. No one comes in, no one goes out. If the assassin comes anywhere near the castle, see to it that he is captured. I know that you want to see him dead as much as I do."

Tidus nodded solemnly before leaving Sora's room. Sora knew that Tidus once loved his younger sister, Selphie. They had both lost something very important to them. If anything, Tidus was more of a brother to Sora than anyone else. Sora trusted him and knew that he would follow his lead to the very end. Right now, they both shared a common goal; getting revenge for their great losses.

A crack of lightning made Sora jerk to face the balcony from surprise. Instead of regular lightning, Sora watched in amazement as some object surrounded by blue flames fell from the dark clouds. To say that Sora was amazed was an understatement. He was so much more than that right now. A star had fallen right before his eyes! Stars never fell! What did this all mean? Sora couldn't understand as he watched the blue flame shoot down towards the earth leaving a fiery tail. He watched as it fell faster and faster towards the city. Oh no! It would be disastrous if it were to crash into the city! Sora breathed in deeply and held his breath as he watched in eager anticipation. When the star collided with the ground, Sora flinched and shut his eyes tightly. When he opened them, he found that the star had fallen within the Forest of Nothingness.

Kairi was instantly at his side, gaping in amazement at the phenomenon that they had just witnessed. Was this some sort of sign? What did it all mean? There was no time to ponder on the thought as the storm suddenly hit. A gust of wind blew into the room, almost causing both Sora and Kairi to tumble over. Rain began pouring down and lightning flashed quickly with the thunder booming right after. Kairi shrieked and Sora forced his way over to the balcony to shut the doors. He struggled against the wind to push the doors shut which turned out to be a difficult task. The rain was literally drenching him and the lightning was no help either. After a few minutes of struggling, Sora had managed to close the doors. It was instantly quieter and the room was less hectic. The room still lit up with light as the lightning flashed but it could no longer do any harm. Sora breathed in deeply as Kairi rushed to his side once more. Despite the fact that he was soaking wet, she still embraced him tightly. How could a storm so terrible suddenly start like that? It made no sense at all! Sora figured that it must have had something to do with the falling star. However, nothing could be done about it now. _No one_ would dare to be caught out in that.

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

Benji yawned tiredly as he looked at the fierce storm that occurred just outside of his bedroom window. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against his bed while listening to his mother and father speak out in the hallway. Well, his mother and his adoptive father. Benji knew that Roxas wasn't his real father. He looked nothing like Roxas. Sure, he had some of his mother's attributes but they weren't the physical ones. If he were really Roxas' son, he would look much different and he wouldn't have been mistaken for being the assassin earlier. But why the assassin? Why did Benji have to look like the assassin? Surely, he couldn't have been Benji's father. His mother had never even met the assassin. At least, that's what she had told him. Benji never really knew if he could believe his mother. She still tried to hold onto the lie that Roxas was his father.

Letting out a sigh, Benji got up and walked over to the window. How exactly did things escalate earlier? Benji still didn't know what had happened and he was there the whole time. Perhaps he should think back to the beginning. Yes, that seemed like a sensible thing to do.

Benji remembered that he was going to ask his friend, Aerith, on a date. He had been friends with her for years and despite the time that they had spent together, Benji had only realized now that he liked her. He liked her a lot. She had always been a good friend and she would always talk to him far more than she would talk to either Leon or Cloud. Oh, Benji knew how much that both of them liked her. Still, it didn't stop him from falling in love with her. However, when he went to meet Aeris, Seifer was there trying to _force_ her to go out with him. Well, that was something that Benji wouldn't allow. It was also something that Leon and Cloud would make their business if they found out… which was exactly what they did. Benji's other friends, Cid, Tifa and Yuffie, also got involved in the fray. Then his mom came. Sometimes, Benji thought that she lived to embarrass him. It definitely seemed that way.

But then it happened. Somehow, Benji ended up on the ground with another female who seemed to come out of nowhere. However, that moment wasn't all bad. It was in that moment that Benji realized that he was temporarily infatuated with Aerith and that he was now in love with the woman who had toppled into him. Yet, she took off before Benji had the chance of helping her up and getting her stuff for her. She must've been in quite the hurry. Still, Benji didn't understand why even when the soldiers came. Next thing he knew, he was pinned to a wall being mistaken for an assassin that was in town before he was even born. It was stupid for them to even think that he had killed somebody, let alone the king's family. And to think that they were even considering killing him and his mother even after she told then that he wasn't even born at the time! It was a good thing that the real assassin actually showed up. Well, at least Benji thought it was the assassin. He had overheard his mother and Roxas speaking about the assassin after they had gotten back home.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Benji left his window and walked over to his door. He listened for any traces of his mother and Roxas' voice yet he heard nothing. With a frown, he turned to look at the alarm clock that he had on a desk in a corner of his room. No wonder he didn't hear his parents. It was after midnight! They had probably gone to bed. Figuring that he should do the same, Benji turned to face his bed. Instead, his eyes were drawn to something else. No, not something else—_someone_ else. Just outside of his window was the cloaked man from before. Benji gasped and backed away. If this man truly was an assassin, he could easily kill him right now. However, something seemed off. The assassin looked desperate and worried about something.

Benji just watched him in silent awe as the assassin tried to motion for him to come to the window. Slowly, Benji approached the window and looked at the assassin oddly. Lightning was still flashing wildly through the sky and the rain was still coming down hard. Perhaps he only wanted shelter. The assassin looked to be growing impatient as he made gestures and mouthed the words 'open the window' to make Benji understand. Hesitantly, Benji slowly opened the window. The assassin quickly jumped inside and shut the window to prevent the rain from blowing in.

"My god, I thought that you were never going to let me in!" He whispered, seeming rather irritated.

Benji simply stared at him in shock. "Umm, I'm sorry?"

"Good. You can make it up to me by letting me stay here until the storm dies down." The assassin stated bluntly making it clear that there would be no discussion on the subject.

The assassin then proceeded to take off his wet cloak and sit on the floor against the wall. Benji was amazed when he beheld the assassin's appearance. It was no wonder that the king's warrior mistook him for being the assassin! The assassin looked just like him! It felt as if he was looking in a mirror that showed how he might look in around ten years. It was so strange. The assassin's attention was quickly drawn to Benji by his quietness and he gave him an odd look.

"Hey, how is your mother? She looked quite shaken earlier."

It took Benji a fair moment of time before he could understand exactly what the assassin was asking and how he should answer. The events from earlier in the evening seemed so long ago. So, quickly, Benji recalled the last time that he had seen his mother that evening and made a reply. "Oh, she's fine now, I think. Well, she seemed alright when we got home."

"I see…" the assassin answered quietly.

Silence enveloped the room again and Benji flopped down onto his bed to try and make things less awkward. He'd rather not have to just stand there and look like an idiot. The whole situation still seemed very surreal to him. A killer was staying in his room. Yeah, that was a good thought to linger on. So what was he supposed to do now? The silence was driving Benji insane but, was he just supposed to make conversation with the assassin? Well, it was kind of the only thing he could do since he wasn't planning on sleeping with someone extremely dangerous in his room.

"So… you haven't been here in nineteen years?" Benji asked, still feeling slightly awkward.

"That is correct." The assassin replied dully, not really leaving much room for conversation.

Benji sat up and looked over at the assassin. "What made you come back?"

The assassin glanced at Benji, rolling his eyes before glancing at the flashing lightning. "Must you really badger me with all of these irritating questions?"

Benji stayed silent, holding his ground and simply staring at the assassin until he answered. The lightning was constantly lighting up the room, making it easy to see the assassin clearly. He turning his head towards Benji, looking quite irritated now.

"If you really _must_ know," the assassin began venomously, "I was checking up on a few people."

Benji went silent as the assassin turned his head to look out the window again. However, the assassin's answer only made Benji more curious. "We're you going to check up on the king?"

The assassin gave him a blank stare. "No."

This was beginning to make Benji mad. He was getting nowhere with this assassin! He wanted real information about what had happened on that night that changed the fate of this kingdom! It was important to the king and it was also somehow important to his parents—well, his parent. That was the other thing he wanted to know about. Was the assassin his real father? But, he couldn't just ask that. It would be too strange. He would have to lead up to it somehow.

"Who were you checking up on then?"

The assassin sighed in aggravation. He looked sharply at Benji, apparently not pleased with the interrogation. "I came here to check up on an orphan who tends to get herself into trouble quite frequently."

Something clicked in Benji's mind. An orphan that got into trouble quite frequently? He remembered the girl who had run into him at the Sandlot and how she looked extremely panicked about something. Shortly after that, the Captain of the Guard showed up. Was that beautiful girl the orphan that the assassin was talking about? He did, after all, show up right after she left.

"Do you mean that girl in the Sandlot?" He questioned quickly, hoping that the assassin might know something about her.

The assassin hesitated for a moment. "Yes. I was checking up on the girl at the Sandlot."

He knew her then! All of the questions that Benji had about her suddenly came pouring out of his mouth. "Who is she? What's her name? How old is she? Where is she from? How do you know her?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down so I have time to answer your questions!" The assassin said, interrupting Benji's rampant questions. Benji shut up immediately and waited for a response.

"It sounds like you're infatuated with this girl." He stated instead of answering any of the questions.

Benji frowned. "I guess, but—"

"Don't bother with that girl. If you try to get involved with her, you'll be tying your life up in knots that even a sailor can't make. Trust me on that one."

Benji was taken aback by this. He… couldn't be with this girl? "Well, why can't I seek her out? How can getting involved with that girl be bad?"

The assassin stood up and wrapped his still wet cloak around himself. "She's the leader of the Forgotten and your king seeks to destroy her and her clan. If you seek her out, you'll be considered one of them."

"But don't _you_ work for the Forgotten?" Benji asked quickly voicing something that he had been told by his step-father.

The assassin remained silent and walked towards the window. Benji hadn't even noticed that the storm had died down quite a bit. The assassin opened the window and, without turning to face Benji, began to answer a few of his questions from before. "The girl's name is Mariah. She is seventeen—eighteen in a few months. That's all I can really tell you. I'm sure you can figure out more about her from what you know."

The assassin jumped out onto the roof and was about to close the window when Benji jumped off his bed and ran over to him.

"Wait a moment!" He shouted quickly, trying to make sure that he was louder than the wind that was still whipping around. "What's your name?"

The assassin looked at Benji for a moment before replying. "My name is Marluxia. Tell anyone and I'll personally come back to kill you."

With that, the assassin was gone just as quickly as he'd come. Benji stood there for a moment, taking in all that had happened before shutting his window. He silently walked over to his bed and allowed himself to fall into the blankets. He wrapped the thick comforter around himself and buried his face in his pillow. This was certainly the most interesting day of his life. Suddenly, he felt as if his life was flipped upside down. All he could do was hope that the sun would rise in the morning.

* * *

Guess what? I'm still asking for five reviews before I get to work on the next chapter. I was kind to you this time but I am sticking to my expectations for the next chapter. Five reviews or this story will come to another halt which could possibly be permanent depending on you reviewers. So, make me happy. Give me lots of love and reviews. (By the way, just something I want you people to know, I _know_ that Kingdom Hearts is a big fandom. Now, I posted a _one-shot_ in a fandom that was really small and I got six reviews for it. This story has six reviews as well and this one has a prologue and two chapters! I expect more from a bigger fandom!)


End file.
